Bete Noire de l'Avenir
by dragonchic
Summary: AU OoC Challengefic. HEAT's future is a dark one... [Incomplete]
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer**: Godzilla is property of Toho Inc. and H.E.A.T. is property of Columbia Tristar. (I think) Other stuff that's not from the show like the Ring of Fire and its agents are property of me so HA! Oh yeah, Phong is property of Mainframe Entertainment

**Comments**: First fic, I know it sucks, oh well

**Category**: Drama

**Rating: **PG-13, may turn R later

Bête Noire du Avenir

"The future is not determined by a throw of the dice. It is determined by the conscious decisions of you and me." - Phong

By dragonchic

Intro: It is ten years since we last left off with the H.E.A.T. After the apparent demise of Godzilla the team had unraveled and gone their separate ways. They never kept in touch; each of the members considered H.E.A.T. a closed chapter of their lives. Though the mutations seemed to have been kept under control on Monster Island, they have broken out and begun multiplying. Whether they like it or not, the former teammates paths will cross, and they will be working together once more.

PART ONE

Chapter One

A dejected looking woman with fiery red hair walked into the 401 diner and slumped into a booth. Yet another failed experiment. She looked around the diner where people were laughing, fooling around, and having a good time. "Stupid fools" she thought. They had no clue about what was going on on the other side of the world. Mutants were multiplying and thriving. The age of the monsters was on the horizon. The military had asked her to lead a research team. Five years ago she would've said yes without a second thought, but now her self-esteem had plummeted. Her failed genetics research was loosing all its sponsors; she barely had enough money for a new microscope. I'd just screw this up too she thought. She sighed and stared out the window, sinking further in her self-pity.

The gym was a hustle and bustle of activity. People were trying desperately to get in shape for summer. A tall, heavily built black man smiled to himself, he was probably the only one there just to keep improving. He set the bench press down and looked down at the brochure he had. He was on a guest pass, he didn't live in New York but he came here often so he got a guest membership. This gym offered him a free trial so he decided to try it instead of his usual one. He looked at his watch. 4:30. He might as well take a shower and head over to the 401 diner for a quick bite to eat. As he was passing by he saw a quick glance of a familiar face. The man had long blond hair tied in a ponytail. 'Mendel' he thought. Naw, it couldn't be, could it? He dismissed the thought and headed over to the showers.

The entire unit was lined up in ready positions. They were getting somewhat bored, this was their first time in America and they couldn't even go sightseeing in New York. Their leader, a stealthy dark haired woman, sighed. They were getting bored from being on the lookout for so long. But this was important; they had to be ready at all times. They were tracking the Ring of Fire, the most famous, richest, and dangerous circle of assassins in the world. She sighed, they were only here because of rumors of a member being here. Her troops were wondering why they would just pack up and leave France on some hunch. She normally wouldn't, but she was on an extremely important assignment. The rumors weren't of just any member, they said the Shadow Dragon was here. The S.D. was, arguably, the most dangerous and successful assassin in the ring. No one who was once his "target" had ever survived. She closed her eyes. But this was NOT where she wanted to be. She wanted to be on her self-assigned assignment, looking for Phillipe's and her husband, Jean's killer. And she tried to argue that, but they refused to let her continue. They feared that the fact that Jean had been her husband Phillipe had been so close to her would cloud her judgement and make her make decisions she would later regret. Of course she knew they were right, but that didn't help at all. Her heart wasn't in this case and therefore she doubted she would ever close it.

A hulky blonde man stepped out of the showers. He got dressed and went out to meet NIGEL. Not a person mind you, but a robot. The little guy had come a long way since H.E.A.T. It was the high-techest robot out there with three personal satellites, a radio to space stations, and a counterpart on the bottom of the ocean. The reason he was bringing NIGEL along was because of the robotics convention the next day. He was nominated for an award and needed NIGEL there to demonstrate some things in his display. And someone had already tried to sabatoge him by stealing NIGEL. Luckily, he got NIGEL back, but he wasn't going to take any chances. NIGEL was going to be his shadow until the convention was over.

The man had come a long way too. What was once a chubby, dweeby, wimp was now a muscular, brave, bodybuilder. He smiled to himself. His close friends, though, sometimes did see glimpses of the old him in him sometimes.

It was 5:33 in New York. Traffic was backed up with people trying to get home from work. A dark figure hid in the shadows of the back alley. It was too bright out, he'd have to wait until later. He had protested when assigned to New York, but a job was a job. He didn't want to come back here, ever. Too many memories. Many good, but all to many more recent ones horrible. He had let the team fall apart. If he had been half the leader he should've been they would still be together. But nothing seemed to work. He had tried, he had tried so hard to keep them together. But eventually, he had no choice but to disband. It was a choice he should have never had to make.

The diner was packed. People had comes there early to beat the dinner rush. Good idea, except that everyone else seemed to have the same one. The black man was lost in the crowd when he heard a waitress announce "Excuse me. Due to the overcrowding today we have gotten some volunteers who are already seated at tables who are willing to share tables with someone else. Is anyone interested?"

"Why not?" he thought. "Might even meet someone."

The redhead looked over her shoulder and saw a waitress leading a man towards her table. "Oh goody, someone to feel awkward and make small talk with." She didn't even look up as he sat down, not caring how rude she seemed. The man just picked up a menu and seemed engrossed in it. She looked up and her heart stopped. In a small voice she asked "Randy?"

He looked up. How did she know my na- then stopped as soon as he saw her. "Elsie?" Elsie just said "ohmygodohmygodmohygodohmygod oh my GOD! It really is you!" Randy got up and wrapped her in a hug. Until he heard an "oomph, happy to see me kiddo?"

"Sorry Else", he said sheepishly. She smiled. "Wow you look, damn…" she trailed off. "Been hitting the gym?"

Now it was Randy's turn to smile. "Yeah, a little how could you tell?" They sat down again ready to catch up on ten years worth of story telling.

The troops had been given a break; their morale was too low to do anything if the S.D. did show up. So here she was, strolling the streets of Manhattan like she did ten years ago. It was getting dark. She'd have to recalibrate soon, he was likely to show up. This would be a lot easier if they knew who his target was. She hadn't a clue, he might not even be in New York. She was lost in thought when a yellow whiz crashed into her. She crashed into the ground, face first. A little blood trickled off her cheek. She looked up disgustedly as she heard a high voice saying "Oh God Oh God I'm Sorry I'm sorry I'm so-Monique?!"

She froze when she saw who it was. Mendel. A very different Mendel, but definitely Mendel. A mixture of emotions flooded her. She was slightly happy, but felt awkward. She and Mendel had always been rather distant, the team the only thing connecting them. She had been a French spy while he was a well, how do Americans say it, a geek. But this guy was comparable to the Incredible Hulk. She got up and tried to think of something, ANYTHING, to say. Mendel made the first move by saying, "Hi"

"Hi." They just stared in silence for a while. Then Monique said "How you been doing."

"Great, just great"

"Great."

"Great."

More silence. She spotted a diner nearby. "Can I buy you a drink?"

Randy and Elsie had been talking for hours. They had so much to say to each other. The pair never realized how much they missed each other until they were reunited. Ironic, isn't it? Anyway, it was getting late and the diner was closing up. They got up to leave. "Wanna head to a bar?" Randy asked.

"Sure" she replied. They were on their way out when something caught Elsie's eye. "Randy…"

"Yeah?"

"Is that…NIGEL?!"

Randy whipped his head around. "Oh my god it is!"

"Well, you know, where there's a NIGEL there's a-"

"MENDEL!"

"Yeah exactly" Elsie began.

"No, over there, it's Mendel!" Randy cried.

She turned around and yelped "And French Fry too!"

They started to run over, then thought about the situation. How should they introduce themselves after ten years. They didn't have to because Mendel turned around and exclaimed "Randy?!Elsie?!"

They just smiled. "Good to see you Dr. C"

By now Monique had gotten up too. Before they knew it they were engaged in a group hug outside the diner. All of them chattering at once, they headed to the nearest bar.

10:01. The city was far from inactive, but it was dark enough to start moving. He knew there were some French espionage troops on his tail here, so he stayed put until now. He had no clue why they would follow him across an ocean. Or maybe he did. He was an assassin now anyway. But still, the Ring had plenty of agents in France. Why did they come here? As he thought about France his mind drifted back to something he tried to forget. Phillipe. He would never forget the day when news was out within the ring that they had killed him at last. He was the only one that wasn't celebrating that day. Instead he had gone up to his room and kinda stared off into space. How could this happen. He had always assumed Phillipe would be able to outsmart and outrun the Ring, he never thought they would actually catch him. But he realized that was a very stupid thought, no one could outrun the Ring of Fire forever. It was like running from your past, you could never get away from it. That was why he had joined the Ring of Fire in the first place. To get away from the failure, the shame of disbanding H.E.A.T. He was young and naïve then, he thought it would last forever. "Stupid" he chided himself. Nothing lasted forever. He was ashamed of how he couldn't cut it, so he ran. The Ring of Fire picked him up on the streets and before he knew it he was in training. He had never meant it to go this far. He thought they would let him go, never would he be their finest member. The Shadow Dragon. A heartless killing machine. But they were wrong, he was not heartless, he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. He pulled hat down over his face, so it shadowed it above his mouth. The hat, the trench coat, the all black outfit gave him the look of one of those tippers in those old detective movies. Or maybe a drug dealer. He kept walking, keeping close to the walls of the alley until he heard a sound. He tensed and pulled his gun out from his trench coat. Turning around, he saw it was just a cat. He relaxed but kept his gun handy, just in case. His weapons weren't the newest technology, but they were extremely effective. He was armed with a year 2000 machine gun, but he hardly ever carried that around. The only things he always had with him were a 1990's handgun, throwing stars like those of ancient ninjas, and a katana. Of course, he was a helluva fighter as well. He looked up at the house number where he had stopped. 1387 Maple Leaf Blvd. This was it. He sighed and started to unlock the side window, wanting to get this over with as soon as possible.

Four fifths of H.E.A.T. were laughing and joking in a bar. Mostly at the metamorphosis of Mendel. "We've got a family reunion here, all we need is …"

"Hey does anyone know what happened to him?"

"No, I never talked to him after the breakup"

"I went to his apartment but he wasn't there."

"It's like he just-"

"Disappeared"

Silence. Elsie had been pretty quiet the whole time. Everyone else had been so successful. Randy was a government agent, who hacked into enemy computers and decoded messages. Monique was leading the top team of French espionage agents. Mendel, was, well look at the guy. She didn't know what the hell it was that he did but he sure improved since she last saw him. Now look at her. Here she was, a depressed, formerly anorexic, twice divorced, failure scientist. She sighed, her life was going downhill. Monique looked over at Elsie, why was she being so quiet? She stared for awhile then looked up at the TV "And just 5 minutes ago, Theo Drekins, the leading geneticist in the country was found dead in his home at 1387 Maple Leaf Blvd. Police are investigating and say they know who the killer is, it's just that finding him will be hard."

"Oh no, Dr. Drekins was murdered?" Elsie said. Monique didn't hear her, just paying careful attention to the screen. "And here's police chief Sayers, what can you tell us?"

"Well we found this symbol burned into the side of the victim." Monique's heart stopped as she saw the all too familiar circle with a black dragon in it. "Monique, earth to Monique come in French Fry."

"Take me there"

"Where?"

"1387 Maple Leaf Blvd."

"Why?"

"I will explain on the way."

The Shadow Dragon knelt in the gravel, washing the blood off his hands, while at the same time trying to cleanse his mind of his latest kill as well. A tear fell down into the water. Why had his life gone so wrong? He hated killing people, but he had dug himself into a hole and forgot to put stairs to climb back out. He knew the police were on his tail, but so what. He had never been caught in his life and he wasn't going to start with some sorry police force that couldn't even catch a cold. No one, except his victims, had even seen his face. He will never forget the looks of shock on their faces when he lifts his hat up and they see a young, handsome looking man with baby blue eyes that seemed like they could never belong to a killer. He looked much younger than his 37 years. But this was never a big deal since they were long gone before they could even scream. What he'd never forget was the look on anyone he had ever known's face just before the killing. There was the shock of recognition, than a look of pain and sadness that seemed to ask "Why?" He had to turn away as he brought the katana down. Those memories could never leave, he would never be cleansed. He was truly the Shadow Dragon, a child of Darkness.

"Monique, why are we going here?" Randy complained. Monique abruptly stopped outside a back alley. He was close, she could feel it. "Are all of you armed?"

"I'm not," Elsie said. Mendel threw her a pistol. Monique then motioned for them to sit down. "I am here on assignment, on the trail of the Shadow Dragon."

Randy's eyes widened. "THE Shadow Dragon?"

"Who's the Shadow Dragon?" Elsie asked.

"Don't you watch the news." Mendel asked. Elsie didn't reply. He gave an exasperated sigh and began. "Well see there's this thing called the Ring of Fire, the most dangerous group of assassins in the world. And the Shadow Dragon is the most dangerous agent of the Ring."

"He's on the ten most wanted list _internationally._" Randy supplied. "And no one's ever even seen his face."

"This guy sounds pretty dangerous French Fry, sure you can't take another case?" Elsie asked, sounding concerned.

"No, I can't. I tried to. But my superiors insisted I take this case. And I need to close this as soon as possible so I can get back to my case on Nemesis." She lowered her voice. "He killed my husband and Phillipe."

Everyone was quiet for awhile. "We're sorry Monique." Mendel apologized.

"Yeah, don't worry we'll help you get this guy, so you can get back to work on Nemesis," Randy reassured her. Monique could only manage a weak smile at their encouragement.

The darkness of the night cloaked him in shadows as he knelt in the ground looking over what he had acquired. This mission did not need anything for the ring; they just wanted him dead. But this guy had an impressive arsenal himself and he decided to keep a few goodies for himself. Two daggers, with specially designed handles for a good grip. He'd only need one, so he'd keep one at the Ring of Fire HQ where he was stationed. If he had a choice he would never go there again. But it's not like he had one. It was still painful for him to kill, but by now it was only a mild guilt, like that of telling a small lie to your parents when you're a kid. They were effecting him less and less. Pretty soon, he would be a heartless killing machine. He suddenly tensed. Someone was here. He glanced over his shoulder and saw four figures crouched in a dark corner. He frowned. They were experienced, they knew most assassins wouldn't see them there. But then again he wasn't like most assassins. He reached in his trench coat, slowly standing up, and drew out a throwing star…

There he is. Monique was so close to victory she could taste it. Randy took this time to check him out. He was about 6'2", taller than anyone else there. But he had an athletic build, didn't look too strong. "Don't worry Monique, Mendel and I can take care of this ourselves." Monique looked at Mendel, who nodded. She had heard stories about how whole squadrons couldn't take him down, but didn't they always exaggerate? She gave them the go ahead. Randy and Mendel slowly crept forward. "Man this guy isn't so tough, the newspapers just lie" Mendel thought. Suddenly, the Shadow Dragon turned around and two throwing stars came flying towards them, knocking the guns out of their hands. Monique and Elsie then shot and two more throwing stars aimed with expert ease knocked their bullets off course. "Damn…" was all Randy could manage. The Shadow Dragon then drew out his katana and expertly blocked the rest of their shots before knocking their guns away too. He started to run.  
"Follow him!" Monique yelled. She then whispered, "Mendel, use NIGEL to cut him off" They then started to run after him. In the few seconds lead he had, he had gained an incredible distance. Randy jumped on an abandoned skateboard and had soon caught up to him. He then pounced on him. Then, to everyone else's amazement, the Shadow Dragon lifted the larger man up and slammed him into the ground. Monique and Mendel came next and with perfect aim he soon had Monique pinned to a wall by throwing stars and Mendel grimacing in pain from a shot that obviously wasn't meant to kill him, but still hit his arm. Elsie sighed and thought to herself, "Looks like it's up to me." At that moment NIGEL came around the corner. The Shadow Dragon stopped and just stared at the robot. "Now's my chance." She ran up behind him and tackled him to the ground. NIGEL fired a binding rope and before she knew it Elsie was tied to the most dangerous killer in the world. "Oh God" The others were coming back to their senses, but would they get to her soon enough? Elsie looked down at the assassin, whose hat had fell over his face and was struggling to get out of the rope. Using her teeth she pulled his hat off- and just froze in shock.

He was definitely different, he was more heavily built, faster, and a much better fighter. His face was different too, his bangs had grown longer and now fell lightly over his eyes. That was about the only difference. At first she couldn't believe it, she didn't want to believe it. But it was definitely him. After they had stared at each other for a while she barely squeaked out "Nick?"

On the other side of the world

Tony Hicks crouched in the grass. Like his father, Anthony Hicks Sr., he was the Pentagon's point man on mutations. He had been called down to help control the breakout on these islands. He frowned. The research team he had assembled was less than outstanding. He had hoped Elsie Chapman would volunteer to lead it, but she refused. Having her would have been great; she had gained all that experience from H.E.A.T. Actually, he was hoping to get Dr. Niko Tatopoulos to be the team leader. Who would be better than the leader of the world's finest mutation fighters? But he couldn't find him. He called all the former members, family, friends, even ex-girlfriends, in hopes of finding him. But there weren't even any government records past the disbanding of the team on him. He just disappeared. He was snapped out of his reverie by a giant foot crashing down next to him. He looked up and saw a huge, mutated bird screeching and flying high above the troops. He sighed. Coffee breaks over, time to go back to work.

Ring of Fire HQ, Richmond, Virginia

Miss Lei, as she was called, frowned. The Shadow Dragon was not at the designated pick-up area. He had to be transported to his next assignment. Mario wasn't going to like this. But what could he do. Mario, even though he was the boss, would have to follow the ring's ancient code for settling major disputes. The Circle of Death, an all out match between members. Two members were enclosed in a ring of fire to engage in a fight to the death battle. There was no running out, for you would be scorched in the flames. This custom was what gave the ring its name. Mario was a good fighter, but he couldn't compare to Nick. She smiled. Fighting wasn't the only thing he couldn't compare to Nick in. She was Mario's personal assistant and a friend of Nick's. Over the years she had got to know both of them rather intimately. What man would be able to resist the voluptuous Asian beauty? She walked over to Mario's office, ready for the spewing anger that would occur when he heard the news.

New York, New York

Nick could just stare. "Else?"

Elsie sucked in her breath. OH MY GOD. Randy and Mendel came running, over guns ready, followed by Monique. "See you in Hell Ring scum" Monique hissed.

"Stop!" Elsie cried.

"Why?" asked a confused Randy. "This guy is the most wanted man in the world."

"He's the most dangerous killer in the Ring of Fire." Mendel supplied.

"I just need this over with so I can back to my other case," Monique growled.

"What we're saying is he's taken so many lives, it's time we returned the favor," Randy concluded.

"Really?" Elsie said. "Well what if he was an old friend of ours?"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Yeah Elsie, the stress of being a failed scientist is messing with your head. Who could this possibly be that we know?" Mendel added.

She cast a fierce glare his way. "Well why don't you see for yourselves," she said undoing the ropes and pulling herself and the Shadow Dragon up. The others got a good look at him and just stared in shock.

"Jefe?" Randy timidly ventured.

"Hey guys, it's been awhile huh?" Nick quietly said.

"Monique, you must have the wrong guy, this is Nick! He's not the Shadow Dragon!" Mendel cried.

Monique started to say something, but Nick interrupted her. "No, she's right."

There was a small stifled gasp from Mendel and he fainted right on the ground. heehee same Mendel

End Chapter One


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Nick took this opportunity to study his former team. Elsie looked different, she seemed thinner and in the short time he had with her, he could tell how stressed out she was. Her face was hollower and her eyes seemed to lack that energy they used to have. She was wearing shorts and an oversized T-shirt and her hair was wavy and a little longer than shoulder length. Then there was Mendel. WOW. That was basically what was to be said about him, except that now he had a little fashion sense, he had on jeans and a blue muscle shirt and still had long hair. Actually, he was just like the Mendel they met when they were caught in that time traveling storm. Except without the scar. He looked over at Randy who was reviving the shocked Mendel. Randy was dressed in the same thing and he was looking much better too. Nick smiled. Same hair though. Monique had on her traditional black pants and jacket over a purple shirt. But now her jacket had the French flag emblazed on it. Her hair was longer, it came down straight until a bit below her chin where it curved and framed her face. He frowned. She was the leader of the espionage troops on his tail. Nick then realized everyone was staring at him. He sighed. "I guess 'it's a long story' isn't going to cut now."

"You are right, it's not," Monique stated. More silence. Randy broke it by saying, "We were all joking at how much Mendel had changed-"

"But looks like you changed the most," Mendel finished. Elsie hadn't said anything. She couldn't believe it. Now she came out of her reverie with a whispered. "Why?"

Nick looked away. "You wouldn't understand," he said softly. Just then they heard the sounds of the police. "He's in there, I think he has hostages!" Nick mentally kicked himself, he had let his guard down. Before anyone could say anything, he pulled his hat down over his eyes, collected his throwing stars and disappeared, melting into the shadows. The rest of the team just stared at the empty space where he was standing. "Now I now why he's called the Shadow Dragon," Elsie thought. The NYPD ran up to them. "Where'd he go?" one of them asked.

Everyone stayed silent. It was Monique's choice on whether to rat Nick out or not. She was the one tracking him. She stepped forward. "I do not understand your question. We are the only ones here."

The policeman looked her over critically for a second. "Are you sure?"

"Positive." Monique replied. He sighed and told the forces to move out, they lost him again. When they were gone everyone turned their attention to Monique. She just said "It was useless to tell them, they would never find him."

Randy sighed. "I guess we lost him forever." Mendel smiled. "Not quite."

"Do you know something we don't know?" Elsie inquired. Mendel showed them a small beeping tracer. "I attached a tracer to Nick's shoe. We will know were he is anywhere in the world." Everyone thought, do we really want to talk to him again. Elsie seemed to read their minds. "Of course we do. Assassin he may be, but he is still Nick, _our friend_. And judging by his answer when I asked him why he did this, we shouldn't jump to any conclusions of him turning evil." The others considered this then nodded their heads in agreement. They'd find him tomorrow.

Nick paced up and down the alley where he was to meet his transport. Did he really have to be here? What could they do if he wasn't? No one would dare face off against him in a Circle of Death. No one who valued their life anyway. He had already killed three contenders early on and no one dared to face him since. Except maybe Mario. Mario was probably the only person as hardheaded as he was. He then heard a very soft beeping sound. He looked at the bottom of his shoe and frowned. A tracer. But then he looked closer and recognized it immediately. So Mendel managed to slip a tracer on me. They were probably coming after him right now. Won't they be surprised when he finds them first.

"Are you sure this is the right way," Randy asked.

"Yes, according to my last calculations he should be right here," reported Mendel. They looked around. "Well, where is he?" asked Elsie.

"Lemme check the tracer again." Pause. "Hmm, that's interesting." Mendel murmured.

"What?" Monique inquired.

"The tracer's malfunctioning," Mendel explained. "Must have burned out."

"Highly unlikely" Monique said. "Are all of you armed? Stay on your guard and watch out for him."

"What are you talking about Monique, Nick's not going to come after _us_," Randy laughed.

"Things change," was all Monique said.

"Elsie, we've been trudging around for hours." Mendel complained. He sneezed. "All this dust is murder on my sinuses" he whined. Elsie rolled her eyes. He may be Mr. Universe on the outside but on the inside he's still the neurotic little wimp he always was. Sorry Crave fans Monique agreed. "Why are we even looking for him?"

"Because he's an old friend and we want to see him again," Elsie said through clenched teeth for the 27th time.

"Else, maybe we should give up," Randy gently suggested. Monique suddenly froze. "We are being watched," she announced.

"I don't see anyone," Elsie said after a while.

"Babe, you're just being paranoid. I don't see anyone, so there's no one here," Randy stated.

"Then you're sense of sight isn't the most reliable around," a voice said. Monique immediately tackled what seemed to be empty space. "Why are you stalking us?" she demanded.

"Oof, good to see you too Monique."

"Hey Nick," Randy said softly.

"How'd you find us?" inquired Mendel.

Nick laughed. "Really Mendel, don't you think after being a fugitive from justice for ten years I'd pick up a few tricks? Like reversing a tracer so it was _me_ tracking _you_."

Monique stepped up. "Listen Shadow Dragon," she spat, "No one here wants you around."

"Then why were you looking for me? Kinda strange to be searching for someone you don't want around."

"I don't know why, but I was against it from the start."

"Awwwwwwww, you missed me."

"We did not miss you AT ALL."

"Then why were you looking for me?"

"THEY were looking for you so they could get some kind of explanation from you."

"And your point is??"

"My point," Monique began, "Is that you are nothing but a heartless BASTARD!"

Nick bristled. "I can see when I'm not wanted," he said dryly. Nick immediately started leaving. Oh no you don't Elsie thought. She ran up and tackled him to the ground. "God, what is with you guys tackling me?" he said. Elsie didn't say anything and pulled him away from the rest of the group to talk to him alone. She didn't say anything for awhile, she couldn't think of the right words to start. Finally she said, "Nick look, I know it's been a long time and we've all changed. Regardless of what the others think, _I_ want to talk to you and know what happened. So maybe while the others get French Fry to cool off you could stay at my place?" she asked semi-hopefully. Nick considered this. "Are you all right with it?"

"With what?"

"You know what."

"Yeah," she said softly, "I'm alright." Nick scrutinized her. "Okay."

She smiled. "Great, you wanna go get your stuff?" He held up a black backpack. "This is my stuff." She stared at him. "That's all?"

He shrugged. "I was expecting to be gone in about 19 hours, so I packed light." She sighed. "We can go shopping in the morning."

Mendel lay on his couch trying to clear his head. He was debating over whether to call Elsie. He wondered if she was all right. It had been three hours. What could he do in three hours? Mendel kicked himself. What was he thinking, Nick would never hurt her. But he was still worried. Mendel sighed. The torch he carried for Elsie ten years ago had been re-lit. He thought for awhile. Maybe he should ask her out. But there was one problem, the same one that held him back during H.E.A.T. Nick. Elsie had a crush on Nick ever since she met him. Only problem was he had a girlfriend then. But now he was unconnected and staying in her apartment. Perfect. He sighed again and turned on the TV.

Nick looked around Elsie's apartment. She had gone out to get something to eat. He came across some legal papers. Divorced twice. Ouch. Elsie never was the luckiest person when it came to love. Then again, neither was he. He was interrupted by the sound of the door closing. He got up and went to meet her. She smiled brightly when she saw him. "Hey Nicky, I got us some Chinese food, you like Chop Suey right?"

"Yeah, haven't had it for a long time," he cautiously replied. Why was she being so bright and peppy? Didn't she know who he was? They sat down at her small table for two. After awhile she looked up. "Nick what's wrong, who barely touched your food."

"I guess I'm not hungry," he replied quietly. Elsie stopped and thought for a bit before saying anything. "Nick I know how you feel. You think you're life has gone downhill and things couldn't be worse. Well it's the same for me. I'm a failure. I've blown millions of dollars on stupid genetics experiments that never worked. I was anorexic and have been divorced twice." She paused. "I've considered suicide more than once and came VERY close to killing myself. I thought my life wasn't worth living. And it must be the same for you. I know you're the same Nick at heart and he would never kill people willfully."

Nick gave her a grateful smile. "So I guess we're just two friends that life has turned it's back on," he said.

Elsie returned the smile. "Guess so." She froze. "Wait, you won't tell anyone about what I said right?"

Nick was confused. "Huh?"

"You know, the stuff about being depressed suicide, being weak?"

Nick laughed. "Don't worry Else, I won't let anyone in on the little secret that you're not superwoman."

The TV was blaring on in Randy's hotel room, but his thoughts were elsewhere. Everything happened so fast. H.E.A.T. had been reunited and everyone had been so successful. Everyone except Elsie. And maybe Nick. He was a successful assassin at least. He frowned. Maybe he should be considering this a different way. Who was happy with their life? Everyone except Nick and Elsie. It felt strange to see them this way. They used to be the most successful people of the team. Elsie was, and still is, a brilliant scientist. Nick was the team leader and a very well known scientist at the age of 27. Now both of their lives had gone downhill. Randy felt sorry for them. But he knew he shouldn't say anything, Nick and Elsie were never too keen on sympathy.

Tony Hicks was frantic. Three mutations had been sighted on the Eastern American seaboard. How did they get that far so fast?! His mood wasn't improved when two more were reported off the coast of New Zealand and Japan. He had a world crisis on his hands. The research team had failed in containing the creatures. He needed someone with experience. Tony picked up the phone and dialed Dr. Elsie Chapman. It rang several times than a man answered. Huh? Elsie wasn't married at this time. "I'm sorry, I must have a wrong number, I was calling for Elsie Chapman," he said.

"No you have the right number," the man answered, "I'll go get her." There was a pause then "Hello?"

"Dr. Chapman, this is Anthony Hicks. I was calling about whether you might have changed your mind on the research team."

"That again?" Elise said exasperated. "Look I don't care how many times you call me, I am not leading a mutation research team."

"Are you sure?" Hicks inquired.

"Of course I'm- hey cut it out!" There was another pause then the man's voice. "She'll call you back." Then they hung up. Hicks was puzzled. Who was he and what was that about?

Elise was steamed. "What the hell did you do that for?" she demanded.

"Why don't you want that job?" Nick asked.

"Because I'm a failure and I'd just screw it up."

"God Else, why are you so negative?"  
"Because I have several reasons to."

Nick looked at her. "Else, I knew life had been kinda rough on ya but I didn't know you had changed so much."

"Oh _I_ changed?" Elsie said with a half amused look on her face. "Look who's talking. Plus, what good am I really going to be to the sorry research team they've got?"

"Well, maybe we could bring some people with a little experience in," Nick replied.

"People?" Elsie asked with a raised eyebrow. "As in more than one?"

"C'mon Elsie, who would be better than H.E.A.T.?"

"Nick, in case you didn't notice, H.E.A.T. disbanded."

"We could get the others to work with you, it would be just like old times. You know their numbers, call 'em."

Elsie thought this over and said all right, and went towards the phone but then stopped. "Nick what about you?" she asked softly.

"I'll figure something out," he answered. "Now go!" Elsie considered him for awhile then reluctantly picked up the phone.

Fifteen minutes later all of the team formerly known as H.E.A.T. were sitting in Elsie's living room. Randy was stretched out on the sofa, Monique was in the easy chair, Elsie and Mendel were on the loveseat (heehee), and Nick was standing off towards the side leaning against the wall. Elsie cleared her throat. "You're probably all wondering why I called you here. Well, the military has asked me to assemble a research team to handle the recent breakout of mutations. And I was wondering if you guys would be interested."

Randy was the first to respond. "Are you kidding, of course we're interested. I've been looking for some action around here."

Monique was less enthusiastic. "I suppose we are the best shot the military has, so yes, I'll do it."

Mendel seemed torn. "You know, NIGEL gets beat up a lot and I have trouble fixing him and… and…," he paused and studied the amused looks on the others faces. "oh all right, I'm in."

"All right!" Randy cheered. "Now we just have to choose a leader. I think I am more than qualified, so all in favor of me say aye." It was silent. "Oh come on you guys, I wanna be leader."

"You can't be leader," Mendel argued, "You can't handle the responsibilities."

"Neither of you will suffice, it will have to be me," Monique cut in. An argument started up that was quickly silenced by a shrill whistle from Elsie. "Shut up, all of you. This will never work if we keep arguing. And there might not even be a team, the military will not accept you unless I'm included."

"And why wouldn't you be included?" asked Mendel.

Elsie turned to Nick who had been silent the entire time. "Nick I think you know the answer to that."

Nick sighed. "I don't really know what I'm going to do. I think maybe I'll return to the ring."

"No!" Elsie cried. "You can't! We finally found you, you can't leave me!"

Nick's expression softened. "What other options do I have?"

"You could come with us," Randy offered. "You can just be Nick Tatopoulus, no one has to know you're the Shadow Dragon."

Nick didn't look too keen on the idea until Elsie gently ruffled his hair. "Please Nicky," she pleaded.

"Oh fine," Nick sighed, defeated. Elsie smiled and walked into the kitchen to get a drink. Nick looked around and suddenly felt self-conscious when he saw everyone smiling at him. "What?" he asked, confused.

Randy walked over to Monique and put the same expression Elsie had on. He ruffled Monique's hair while saying in a high voice "Oh Nicky I loooooooooove you." Nick just stared then sighed and said "Listen guys Elsie's great and all but…" Mendel's head jerked up at the 'but'. "I just like her as a friend not anything more." He paused. "I mean after Myst I don't know if I can feel that way about anyone…" he trailed off before realizing his slip up. Elsie returned and was surprised to find everyone staring at Nick critcally. "What?" she asked.

Randy opened his mouth to tell her, but a threatening glare from Nick silenced him and the others. Elsie remained just as confused. "Really guys what happened?" she asked. No one answered. She looked then over than slowly said, "I'm going out to get our lunch, can I trust you guys not to trash my apartment?"

"Oh course you can Else," Randy replied. Elsie grabbed her purse and left. Randy looked over at Nick and said, "Okay who the heck is 'Myst'?"

"No one," Nick answered quickly.. He plopped down on the sofa and switched on the TV before anyone could reply. It came up to a news report done by a pretty blonde reporter. "This is Audrey Timmonds reporting for channel 5 news," she said. Nick stared at the screen. "She still looks great," he mused. He shook his head and changed the channel. He had been in love with her, but it hadn't survived her ten-year absence.

"Are you okay?" asked Mendel.

"About what?" Nick replied.

"About Audrey." Randy supplied.

"Oh, I'm fine," Nick said. "She was nice, but after ten years you tend to forget people."

"Is it about Myst?" Randy asked. Nick bristled and glared at Randy, sending him the message that she was a touchy subject and he should drop it. Monique picked up the remote and flipped to a made for TV movie.

When the show was over Elsie still wasn't back. Randy flipped the channel back to the news, saw nothing interesting was on, then just sighed and turned off the tv. "Now what?" he asked.

"We could play a game," Mendel suggested.

"Like what? Go Fish?" Randy joked.

Mendel beamed. "Exactly what I was thinking." Everyone just rolled their eyes. At that moment Elsie walked in. "Hey guys, got our lunch. Hope you guys don't mind McDonalds. Oh and Nick, I got you some new clothes."

Nick was puzzled. "Why?"

"C'mon, you can't honestly think you're going around dressed like that. There will be cops everywhere and you're a wanted criminal." Nick looked skeptical. "Don't worry," Elsie said, "I guessed you're sizes and got you everything except new shoes." She dumped the contents of the bags onto the sofa. As the others looked at the one-color lump of clothes Elsie explained, "I figured you were pretty partial to black."

"You figured right," Nick muttered as he rifted through them. Elsie smiled. "Guess I know you better than you thought Dr. worm guy. The bedroom's over there, go try them on," she urged pushing him into the room. After a few minutes Nick emerged wearing black pants, and a black shirt under a mid thigh reaching thin jacket (think Keanu Reeves from The Matrix…kinda). Nick brushed away the hair falling over his eyes. "Nick man, you should really get a haircut. I mean those bangs, how can you see. The style's not that bad and all but…" Randy trailed of as Nick gave him a look that clearly said look who's talking. "Never mind, your hair is fine," he said quickly. Nick's smile quickly turned to a frown when he heard a familiar ringing. He picked up his cell phone and looked over the caller ID. "Oh shit," he said softly.

"What, who is it?" Mendel asked.

"It's Mario and he's pissed," Nick replied.

"Who's Mario?" Mendel inquired.

"My boss," Nick answered. After a while of consideration Nick picked it up and said "Hey Mario what's up?"

The rest of the team could hear the yelling on the other side of the phone. Whoever this Mario was, he didn't sound like a very nice person. The conversation escalated to the point where Nick was yelling just as loud as Mario was. Mendel motioned to the others to show that he got NIGEL to tap into the signal so they could listen in. They all gathered around the yellow robot.

"Listen Tatopoulus, you may be a Master Assassin, but I am the leader of the whole damn ring and you have to answer to me."

"Listen Mario," Nick began coldly. "If you're this worked up over this I'll be happy to take it to the Circle." There was a pause on the other end. "And don't think I'll go easy on you just because you're my boss. It's a fight to the death and I have no reservation about killing you just like those other three."

"Listen Shadow Dragon," Mario sneered. "I made you who you are. I trained you myself. I gave you that katana and showed you how to use it to it's full potential. I brought out the full potential in you. Who was it that picked you up and turned you into the most dangerous assassin in the world? I was like a father to you. You owe me."

"You ruined my life," Nick growled. "I don't owe you anything." And with that he hung up. He looked back at the others who had shocked and frightened looks on their faces. "Who are you?" Mendel started. "Because you're not the Nick I know." Nick could only look down at the floor as the others left Elsie's apartment.

End Chapter Two


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Elsie was worried. Nick had locked himself in his room and refused to come out. She was leaning against his door trying to coax him out when there was a knock on the door. She opened it to find Mendel. "Hi Elsie, just thought I'd drop by." She just nodded and let him in. "You want something to drink?" she asked.

"No, I'm okay," he replied. Mendel looked around. "Where is he?" he asked. Elsie just pointed to a closed door at the end of the tiny hallway. "Oh," Mendel said. Elsie heaved a heavy sigh. "He hasn't come out since you all left." Mendel looked guilty. "Is it because of what I said. Lemme tell him I'm sorry."

"No," Elsie said stopping him. "He needs to figure things out. He needs to be alone." Mendel nodded and sat down on the couch. Elsie sat next to him and gave him a weak smile. "So what have you been up to."

"Oh nothing much, working out, fixing NIGEL," he replied. Elsie gave him the first wholehearted smile he saw since he got there. "You look great Mendel," she said. Mendel smiled back and moved closer to her.

Nick finally emerged from his room to find Mendel and Elsie watching TV with Mendel's arm around Elsie and her head on his shoulder. Nick smiled and tiptoed back into his room.

Once back in his unofficial sanctuary Nick lay down on the bed, feeling depressed. Seeing the developing romance reminded him of something he had hoped to forget. He opened up his little backpack and took out a small box. Inside were some photos of things special to him. There was a picture of his family, of HEAT, and some friends from the ring. There was a framed picture of Audrey. He had never bothered to take that out, he never cared or had the time. He opened up the frame to reveal a picture hidden behind Audrey's. It was a woman posing against a black background. She was gorgeous, to put it simply. She was wearing tight, dark pants with spiked boots. She had spiked wristbands too. There were used to deflect bullets and the wristbands were retractable. Her top was basically a strapless bikini tube top. Instead of being straight on the top it spiked down. She was holding a trident that was crossing over her legs. The trident was her primary weapon and was extremely effective. Her long red hair gently framed her face giving her the fiery look she was well known for. Her fiery look AND temper. Under the picture was Mystique. Or Myst as only he could call her Nick fondly remembered. This was her file photo for the ring. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing. He thought for awhile than replaced Audrey's picture with Mystique's and placed it on the nightstand. Nick stared at that sadly before drifting off to sleep.

Elsie and Mendel walked over too Nick's room and were surprised to find the door unlocked. They walked in to find Nick asleep. While Mendel looked at the pictures with interest Elsie noticed the nightstand. "What's this?" she said as she picked up the picture. She looked at the woman with interest while Mendel looked over her shoulder and gasped. "Mystique… MYST! That's who she is," he said.

"Myst?" Elsie said. "Mind filling me in here?"

"Nick said something about someone named Myst while you were gone, but I think accidentally slipped out and he wouldn't tell us anything more," he replied. Elsie looked back at the picture as the exited. "Well I think she looks like a slut," she muttered as the door closed.

The music of the Radicals blared into the headphones Randy was wearing as he danced around his hotel room. It was extremely loud so he almost didn't hear his cell phone ring. "Hello?"

"Hey Randy," said the voice on the other line. Randy brigthened. "Hey Candy, what's up?" Candy, or Candice (from the Area 51 episode) was Randy's wife of 7 years. After H.E.A.T's breakup she had offered him a position in Area 51. He had eagerly accepted and spark between them blossomed into a serious romance. He eventually married her, but not too soon after the marriage he was offered his government job. It would require him to travel all over the country. They had discussed it at great length and decided it would be best for Randy if he accept it. He called her almost every day and would stay with her every other weekend if possible. Sometimes he could go for months without even seeing her. He still considered himself a resident of New Mexico. He was on assignment in New York. He smiled. What a coincidence for all of them to be here at the same time. He explained this to Candy. "So everyone happened to be here at the same time. Elsie lives in Manhattan and Mendel in Queens and the rest of us were here on assignment."

"Wow," Candice said, "So what's everyone been up to."

"You should see Mendel, he's more heavily built than me."

"Damn, he must have really changed."

"Naw, he's still the same Dr. C at heart. And Monique is pretty much the same too. She's still working for the French spy thing. Let's see, Elsie has kinda changed, I think she's depressed."

"Oh no," Candy began, "she was so talented, what happened?"

"I don't know," Randy replied. "So anyway we all met and-"

"Wait a minute," Candy interrupted. "You said everyone's back right?"

"Yeah…" Randy answered tentatively, knowing what was coming next.

"So what about Nick?" Randy paused. What should he say? They didn't have an alibi for Nick. Could he trust her with the truth? Randy decided against it. "He never said what it was that he's been doing," he lied.

"Oh, well find out for me 'k?"

"Okay," Randy murmured.

"I have to go now sweetie, call me later?" Candy said.

"Sure."

"Bye, I love you," she said.

Randy took a deep breath and let it out. "Love you too." He hung up the phone, aware of a new problem the team would have to discuss at its first meeting.

Monique paced around her hotel room. This was not happening. She WAS NOT joining forces with the Shadow Dragon. She plopped down on the bed and covered her face with her hands. How the hell did she get talked into this? It was stupid. She was supposed to catch him and turn him in, not start working for him. If she turned him in she could get back to the man who killed Phillipe. But did she really have a choice? Even if she had refused she knew they would pester her until she joined. She sighed. Something deep inside her also wanted to do this. To be working with Nick again. She had to admit she did miss him over the past ten years. Phillipe had too. Monique curled up into a ball and let her mind wander back to the day she had learned of Phillipe's death…

**FLASHBACK**She was in her office in their home, looking over the case details she had gotten for her latest assignment. She was supposed to track an escaped felon who was trying to overthrow the French government. He apparently was attracting followers by telling them the reason for all their problems was a massive governmental conspiracy. She shook her head. What a nut. She knew that France hadn't been in the best shape lately and the government could definitely be better, but what kind of person would blame high bread prices on a supposed massive government conspiracy. What was even dumber was the fact that so many people agreed with him. She sighed. The country was truly getting desperate.

She was looking over his recent sightings when the phone rang. The caller informed her of another Ring of Fire assassination. But when she asked who the victim was the caller stuttered a bit before hanging up. Monique drove over trying to ignore the feeling that something was seriously wrong.

When she got there she had to fight through a wall of French agents. She finally got through she looked around for the latest victim. She saw a few friends of Phillipe's huddled together around two bodies. Monique called out to them, but knew something was wrong when their eyes wouldn't meet hers. They parted to let her see the bodies and her heart jumped into her throat.

At first she didn't want to believe Phillipe and Jean were the men lying on the ground, his clothes stained a sickening crimson color. But it was him. She knelt down and took Phillipe's hand. It was unnaturally cold. She stood up and stayed absolutely still. She could feel everyone's eyes on her. Monique took deep breaths, she refused to let herself cry in front of her fellow agents. With a heavy heart she left, she couldn't keep the tears away much longer. But just before she left she noticed a symbol branded into Phillipe's stomach, next to the long cut across his chest that had been the one that killed him. It was a circle with a flame inside of it. She suddenly felt a new feeling flood her, one of anger and lust for revenge. After that she had dropped the conspiracy nut case and vowed that she would take the Ring of Fire agent who killed Phillipe down or die trying. **END FLASHBACK**

Hot tears streamed down Monique's face. How could she do this? Now she'd never catch Nemesis. The tears were wiped away in disgust. It had been so long and though it always hurt, she never cried when she thought about Phillipe and Jean. She had tried dating again soon after their death, but never got too attached, she was afraid of being hurt again. What was strange was the fact that Phillipe's death had hurt more than Jean's. Maybe it was the fact that with their job, Monique hardly ever even saw Jean. She had even started to doubt if she really loved him. But Phillipe had always been there, he was like a father to her. She missed him so much. Even though it had been so long, it still hurt when she thought of him. This was her weak side, the part of her that she feared. But she needed to be serious. Although she was going to hate it, she had to work with the Sha-Nick. She shook her head. He was Nick now. NOT the Shadow Dragon. And that was who she was going to work with. Not the heartless killer, the man who she used to know. She sighed. This was going to be difficult.

New Zealand coast

People screamed and stared in awe at the sight before them. A majestic orange bird flew over them. The bird's wings were flames, it was a Phoenix. The great fire bird circled over head before swooping down and gliding down a street, burning and crushing every building in sight. Widespread panic ensued as scorched bodies fell to the street and terrified civilians ran for their lives. A frightened family ran into an alley, only to be trapped by a wall of fire ten feet high. They huddled together as they felt themselves picked up in the beak of the giant. The sticky saliva covered them as they each grabbed on to a tooth to avoid being swallowed. But surprisingly, the bird never made an effort to devour them, it seemed to intend to just carry them in its beak. They looked at each other with confused looks. What was it doing? Their questions were answered when the bird stopped and its beak opened a crack. They were on a deserted island, a few miles away from the island they had originally been on. Tentatively peeking through the crack they saw several smaller Phoenixes, chirping loudly with their beaks wide open. They had been brought to the nest. No one heard each person's screams as they were one by one dropped into a chick's eagerly awaiting mouth.

New York City

H.E.A.T. huddled around a table in the plane which was going to transport them to Death Valley, where Tony Hicks was to rondevou with them. There were pictures from New Zealand spread out across the table. Although they were fuzzy and not very detailed they could make out the images of a village burning with what looked like a giant bird flying overhead. Elsie sighed. "Looks like we got our work cut out for us." No one said anything, this was said to be a picnic compared to what was happening in the Sahara desert. Mendel wasn't quite sure he had the stomach for this job as he came across a very clear picture of someone covered in third degree burns with a huge cut across their abdomen with intestine hanging out. He used all his willpower to push the gruesome sight away and force the impending vomit down. The team returned to their seats as the captain informed them it was time for take-off. Mendel sat next to Elsie while Randy promptly reserved a row of two seats to later be used for him to lie down on. Nick and Monique looked at each other. The team needed to in the little triangle of seats to talk to each other, and there were only two seats left. They reluctantly sat down. Monique promptly looked away, pretending to be intently interested in something on the plane's interior wall. Nick sighed. This was going to be a long flight. He didn't really mind sitting next to Monique, except he felt so guilty and awkward. He knew she hated him. And he knew saying he was really sorry, but he had to do it wouldn't get him anywhere. She couldn't understand what he'd been through. None of them could.

**FLASHBACK**_Nick woke up lying on a bed in a lavishly furnished room. "Where am I?" he thought. He tried to remember what happened. He remembered the announcement of disbanding H.E.A.T. As sorry as they seemed to be, each member seemed relieved when they heard the news and had left after rather quick goodbyes. The tension between them had not been lifted. He then remembered leaving his apartment at about two in the morning for a walk to clear his head. There was a bottle of liquor that had been full when he left with it, and the same bottle was on the nightstand, almost empty. He groaned. He must have gotten drunk, that's why this was all unfamiliar to him. He checked the date on his watch. It was the day after he had gone for his little walk. What happened? He was snapped out of his thoughts by a strangely familiar voice saying, "Ah, you're finally up, how do you feel." Nick answered without much thought to who the man was. "My head hurts. Where am I?" _

_ "You are in one of our living quarters. In case you are wondering how you got here let me be the first to inform you. You were brought in, utterly drunk, by two of my, er, agents. We patched you up. You would have died if it weren't for our getting you medical attention quickly."_

_ "Oh well, thank you," Nick answered, slightly confused. "Why?"_

_ "Because when they brought you in I sensed something in you. I deterred them from their original plans for you and had them help you," the man replied._

_ "What did you sense?" Nick asked, curious. _

_ "I sensed potential," the man boomed. "I sensed the potential for you to succeed greatly in our particular field. And I have never been wrong about anyone."_

_ "O-kayyyyyyyyy," he said. "Uh-"_

_"Listen Nick, I will give you another day to rest, but before that I have a proposition to offer you,"_

_ He was startled. "How did you know my name?" he asked, bewildered._

_ "I know more about you than you think Dr. Tatopoulus. Like the fact that your team recently broke up and you have nowhere to go," the man started. Satisfied by Nick's bewildered stare he continued. "The proposition I have to offer to you is one of employment. I can offer you great pay and all the training you will need. Interested?" Nick nodded. "I'm listening." The man smiled. "I have prepared a contract. It is standard to all my employees. You work at convenient hours and are paid what you are worth." Nick raised an eyebrow at the last statement. The man just continued. "Don't worry, if my instincts are right you will be worth a lot. Now if you would just sign here." He thrust a paper into Nick's hands. Still a little woozy from all that alcohol, Nick didn't bother to look over the contract. He just took a pen and signed his name. The man snatched the paper out of his hands with a satisfied smile. "Thank you, I look forward to working with you. Now get some rest, you begin tomorrow." Nick just nodded and slumped back onto the bed and went to sleep._

_ He woke up and was able to only faintly remember the last day's events. He remembered signing some kind of contract that bound him to work for some guy. He chided himself for not actually reading the contract. How could he be so stupid?! "Oh well," he thought. The guy seemed nice enough. He had taken him off the streets and nurtured him back to health. He seemed so eager to get him; it was the least Nick could do. Besides, how bad could it be?_

_ Nick then noticed a note on the nightstand._

_ Nick-_

_ Please meet me in my office to discuss_

_ the start of you're training. Miss Lei _

_will direct you to the office. _

_ -Mario_

_ Hmmm, Mario must be the guy from yesterday. He frowned. How was he supposed to find Miss Lei? His question was answered when he heard a voice call to him, "So you're finally up. Hmph, took long enough. Come on, Mario's waiting." Nick looked over to the source of the voice. He soon took in the sight of a stunning Asian woman dressed in traditional garb. He stared for awhile before realizing what he was doing. He blushed, mumbled an apology, then followed her out the door. After a long walk, they finally reached his office, five floors below where Nick was staying. Nick was confused. He didn't remember the view from his room being that far off the ground. This building was underground? But why? He didn't have time to ask because he was ushered into a large office before he could open his mouth. Mario looked up and motioned for him to sit. _

_"Now Nick," he began, "It's time for you to find out what you're here for. But first, here's a schedule of you day today." Mario tore off a piece of paper from a notepad labeled newcomer forms and quickly filled it out and handed it to Nick. "After breakfast in the dining hall you will report to the first item on there." Nick barely heard him, he was totally confused by the little form Mario had handed him. Weapon selection, basic combat moves? What the hell was this? He looked over to the part where it listed his trainer to find Mario's name. Nick looked at him. "Yes Nick, I will train you myself. You can be one of our finest, and I'll make sure you become one."_

_ Nick shook his head. "Why all the weapon and combat stuff."_

_ "Don't you know Nick?" Mario began. "You are now working for the Ring of Fire, circle of assassins." Nick heart sank and he wearily asked, "And I take it I'm going to be doing more than answering the phone?"_

_ Mario laughed. "Nick you are going to be a full fledged assassins, one of our best!" Nick violently shook his head. "No no no, I mean no, I can't, an assassin? No way." Mario smiled wryly at him. "I'm afraid you have no choice." He handed Nick his contract and Nick felt sick to his stomach to find that he had been signed on for twenty years. "Don't think of purposely failing at being an assassin either," Mario warned. "Anyone who doesn't make it is exterminated." "Anyone who doesn't make it is exterminated." Nick stared at Mario before growling, "Then kill me." Mario raised an eye at him and sighed. "Perhaps it will take a little more persuasion than I thought." He forcefully pulled Nick into a standing position. "Let's take a little walk." _

_ Mario led Nick to a small dimly lit room at the end of the hall. He pushed Nick in and made him sit in a small chair at the center. Nick looked around and tried to stay calm as he saw two heavily built men walk into the room. Mario smirked at Nick's predicament. "Dr. Tatopoulos," he began, "these are Spike and Jay, two of my comrades. Now I'll ask you again, do you agree to honestly go about your training to become an assassin? Before you answer let me warn you that a 'no' will force me to turn you over to Spike and Jay. And believe me," he said smiling grimly, "they like to use a much more physical method of persuasion."_

_ Nick took a deep breath. "I am NEVER joining you."_

_ "Are you sure," Mario asked._

_ "Yes," Nick replied firmly. Mario sighed and snapped his fingers. Spike and Jay advanced on him. Nick closed his eyes and braced himself._

_ The first punch hit him in the back of his head. Nick forcefully opened his eyes to find the world spinning around him. He tried to ignore the blinding pain that came with the next blow to his face. Jay then pulled Nick up and the pair repeatedly punched him in the stomach and head until Mario called them off. "So Nick, now are you ready to join me?"_

_ Nick could only croak out a barely audible "No." Mario sighed and snapped his fingers again. Spike and Jay punched him in the stomach, then started to kick him in the head. Nick's struggled to keep his balance, surprised that they could reach that far up with their legs. Jay went behind Nick and kicked him in the back of his kneecaps. Nick cried out in pain. Jay gave one more solid kick and Nick collapsed onto the floor, blood leaking from his mouth. He gasped and struggled for air. "Dr. Tatopoulos, I give you one last chance. Join us or die." Nick may have been severely injured, but that did nothing to dim his stubbornness. "Never," he whispered. Spike and Jay rubbed their knuckles eagerly, but Mario put up his hand. "That's enough Spike and Jay, you are dismissed." They looked disappointed, but did as Mario told them. "You," Mario said pointing to Nick. "Come with me." Nick grabbed onto the chair to help him up and staggered out after Mario._

_ Mario leaned back in his chair back in his office. He surveyed the mess that collapsed in the chair opposite him. "An iron determination" Mario observed. That would take him far. He waited awhile before he began to speak. "It seems that your own suffering will not faze you in your decision not to join me." Nick didn't reply; he just glared at Mario. The older man smiled. "Are you sure you won't join us?" he asked. Nick nodded. Mario sighed, "Then you are free to go." Nick stared in disbelief. "No catch?" he croaked. _

_ "No," Mario replied smiling. "You might want to tell your reporter friend Miss Timmonds to check the dumpster behind your apartment tomorrow morning with her camera crew though."_

_ "Why?" Nick asked warily._

_ Mario smiled evilly. "So she can have the exclusive story on the mysterious appearance of the bodies of Elsie Chapman and Randy Hernandez in that exact dumpster." Nick gasped. "No," he whispered._

_ "Yes." Mario replied. He picked up his phone. "Miss Lei, can you get the White Raven in here please. I have a new assignment for him." Nick slammed the phone down. "No," he yelled, "you can't! They aren't a threat to you!"_

_ "I can and will," Mario growled. Then he smiled. "How guilty one must feel to know he could have prevented this. I know I would feel just awful and to think-"  
"I'll do it."_

_ "Excuse me?" Mario asked._

_ "I said I'll do it," Nick said struggling to keep his voice level. "Just leave Randy and Elsie alone."_

_ Mario picked up the phone again. "Miss Lei, tell the White Raven to forget about seeing me, his assignment's been cancelled." He put the phone down and turned to Nick. "It shall be a great pleasure working with you Nick. And don't worry, it might be hard at first, but after awhile you'll be like any of us and be able to kill without feeling." Mario smirked as he saw Nick sink back into his chair, defeated_.**END FLASHBACK**

Nick stared out his window and thought back to what Mario had said. Being able to kill without feeling. Yeah, that was starting to happen. Nick had originally thought Mario to be a nut and all that destiny stuff to be a load of B.S. But maybe Mario was right. Nick had become the Ring's greatest assassin. Perhaps it was his destiny. Nick mentally kicked himself. How could he think like that? He was not meant to be an assassin, he had been exploited by Mario. But still, why was it now so much easier to kill, why did he sometimes feel extreme cases of bloodlust? He sighed, becoming more depressed. Monique had every right to hate him. He glanced around at the others, looks like they weren't going to get back to work until they arrived in Death Valley. Mendel and Elsie were quietly talking, while Randy was lying down on his little row of seats, listening to his Discman. Monique had fallen asleep. He didn't have to look at her to know that. He could hear it. She was breathing deeply and slowly. He looked at her, and for the first time realized that her head was resting on his shoulder. She must have leaned against him unwittingly after she fell asleep. Nick just stared for awhile and, for reasons he didn't understand, made no effort to move her. For some reason he felt content with her leaning against him. He shifted to make Monique more comfortable, then transferred most of his attention back to the Phoenix photos.

Death Valley

Tony Hicks looked at his watch. They'd be here in five minutes. He took a sip of his coffee. He hadn't been getting much sleep lately, mutations were turning up everywhere and were causing international panic. Looking at the report in his hand, he felt weak. Seven Basilisks was terrorizing the Sahara. Civilian casualties were fast approaching the thousands. All he could be thankful for was that there had been no sightings, besides a mutated cougar that had made it's way to Death Valley, in the US. He tensed as he heard the roar of the cougar in the distance. It rang loud and clear in his ears. "God," he thought, "that thing's getting closer." All he could do was try to keep it away from major cities and hope that H.E.A.T. would get here on time.

Ring of Fire HQ

Mario paced in his office. Who the hell did Nick think he was? What an ungrateful son of a bitch. He knew that Mario had taken him in and, instead of killing him, and spared him and made him a great assassin. What did Nick want? He was rich; hell he was making close to what Oracle was making. And Oracle was the second in command of the whole damn ring. "God, I swear I am going to cut that bastard's pay in half!" He heard a knock on the door. "Come in," he called out gruffly, hoping whoever the hell it was would make it quick. Oracle walked in. She was tall with long black hair reaching well past her hips. Her eyes were a dark, icy blue, which was a great contrast to her hair. She was very beautiful, but she almost never smiled and was very intimidating; most men were too scared of her to even get near her. Not that she cared. Oracle had always been a loner and was a very strong woman who could do fine on her own. She was dressed in a tight, EXTREMELY short red dress that was covered with black embroideries of exotic flowers, dragonflies, and random swirls. The dress was sleeveless, but did not just cut off in a straight line on her chest. Instead, the dress continued, in a triangular design, up to attach to a band of red fabric around her neck. The outfit was completed by thigh length black boots.

Oracle was one of those people who seemed to demand respect as soon as you laid eyes on them. And she was never afraid on hard work and strived to be the best at everything she did. Mario had got his job by being the heir to the ring. His great-great-great-great-great-well, you get the idea, grandfather had started it. It was passed down through the family to each first born son. A woman had never been in charge, it was forbidden in the charter the founder had drawn up. Unlike Mario though, Oracle had risen through the ranks to become second in command. Even though people feared her, they had a great respect that was reserved for her. If they didn't respect, they just saw her as a major bitch. But whether they liked her of not, if you asked any member of the ring, she'd be a much better leader than Mario. "Mario, we have a major problem," she began.

Mario dismissed her with a wave of his hand and said "We'll talk later Oracle," before turning back to the papers that were the reports of Nick's whereabouts on his desk.

Oracle strode over to the desk and with one motion swept the papers off his desk. "Not later," she said as she brought her face to within inches of his. She looked him straight in the eye and in a firm voice said, "Now."

Mario just stared at her before sighing. Tatopoulos was going to have to wait until after the bitch was done.

back on the plane

The pilot's voice came over the intercom telling them to fasten their seatbelts and get ready for landing. Elsie reached and swatted Randy on the back of the head to get his attention since he couldn't hear anything with his portable DVD player so loud. Randy sighed, turned it off, and fastened his seatbelt. Elsie smiled and leaned back in her seat. Mendel was a lot more than what met the eye. He was a sweet, considerate man, who shared her views on a lot of things. She frowned. She was a little scared of going any farther though. What if he turned out to be just like the others? She stared off into space as she attempted to sort out her thoughts.

Mendel looked at Elsie. Was it something I said? No, he decided, she was just reluctant to get involved with anyone. He didn't blame her. If he was divorced twice he'd be scared to death of women. "She'll come around," he thought. To get his mind off Elsie he took the time to look around at the others. Randy was off in la la land thinking of god knows what. Mendel chided himself, he shouldn't be so mean. Randy had changed. He was still the fun loving guy he had known before, but he was also more responsible and just a little less impulsive. And he was married now, so there was no more hitting on Monique. That was going to be a little weird. But as his eyes wandered over to the last row of seats he realized someone may be there to take Randy's place.

Elsie looked over to where Mendel was staring and saw Monique and Nick, both asleep, leaning against each other. "Awwww," she said softly. Mendel looked over at her and smiled. "Just what I was thinking," he whispered. Elsie smiled back and turned her attention back to the book she had just started reading.

Nick woke up as the plane touched down and realized he was slightly leaning on Monique. He reddened a little, hoping no one had noticed, but a wink from Randy told him they did. He avoided the other's eyes and started to nudge Monique awake.

They all walked out of the plane and found Major Hicks Jr. waiting for them. He gave them a tour of the base. "But don't make yourselves too at home," he warned, "Cause you'll be leaving before you know it." Tony led them to the central conference room. "The materials describing the latest attacks will be here shortly. But until then let me get to know you a little better. So tell me Nick, where have you been all this time, I couldn't find you anywhere." The team exchanged worried glances as Nick shifted uncomfortably. "Well uh, I uh, had to change my name for uh protection." That was true. He had to change his name to the Shadow Dragon to protect him from being caught. "Protection?" Hicks inquired. "From what?"

Nick took and deep breath and said, "I, uh, kinda, um, witnessed a couple of murders." That was also true. Witness meant to watch it take place and Nick had definitely watched them take place. The rest of the team kept their mouths shut about how Nick had done a lot more than just "witness" these murders.

"Oh," Tony said. "Well don't worry, your secret's safe with me." But somehow Tony got the feeling Nick wasn't telling him the entire truth.

The team looked over the papers Tony had handed them. Basilisks in Africa, a giant cougar here, and a Phoenix in New Zealand were the ones they already knew about. What they didn't know about were the regenerating hydras sighted in the pacific, and a few old friends that had gotten loose including Medusa (the melting sea anemone) and the Shrewster (that shrew inside a tornado). "What were the last known whereabouts of Medusa and the Shrewster?" Nick asked.

"Medusa was sighted heading towards Chicago and the Great Lakes, and the Shrewster was last seen near Oklahoma City."

"We have prepared a plane to for your use." Hicks said. "He'll be your pilot," he added motioning to a man standing in the doorway. The man looked taken by surprise, then waved and smiled shyly at them. Elsie turned back to Tony. "So where are we headed?"

"That's up to you," he said. "I don't really give a damn as to what mutations you go to first, as long as you destroy them all before they cause the end of the world as we know it!"

Elsie looked at him, "So no pressure, right Tony?" He gave her a look and said nothing about her little comment. "Just hurry up and leave," he said ushering them out the door.

Elsie looked at the rest of the team. "You know the best thing about him are those great people skills of his. Really makes us feel important."

"Whatever Else," Randy replied. They got into the plane to find it very roomy, with a conference room in the middle. "Guess he made sure we never stopped working," Mendel commented dryly. They made their way to the front to find seats better then those in first class. "Hey look," Randy said, "We even get our own phone. And wow, mini TVs!" He tried to turn them on, but got nothing but static. "Hey mister pilot guy, the TV doesn't work."

The pilot came out of the cabin and replied "First of all my name is Jim Henderson, not 'mister pilot guy'. And second, the TVs aren't supposed to work. You're here to save the planet, not watch Saturday Night Live. Okay, now where to?"

The team looked at one another. Nick spoke up. "We better head for Chicago and cut Medusa off before she gets to the Great Lakes." The rest nodded. "Okay," Jim said, "Chicago it is. Now please go back to your seats and fasten your seatbelts until after the plane had taken off." The team did as they were told.

Once in the air and transmission started coming in on one of the central TV screens. "Hey," Randy said, "I thought those weren't supposed to work."

"It's not a TV show," Nick said. "It's a transmission from the military. Looks like a map." It was a map of the world with little red dots all over it. Monique touched one of the dots and a picture of a mutant with a short description of it came up. "It's a map of all the sighted mutations," she exclaimed. She counted them. "Nine," she reported. "And there are probably more to come."

They exchanged worried looks. Nick sank into his chair. How were they going to do this? One monster at a time was already near impossible. But now they were expected to take down nine? He looked around at the rest of his team and saw that they were thinking similar thoughts. He sighed. What had they gotten themselves into?

End Chapter Three


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Ring of Fire HQ

Oracle slammed the book shut in frustration. This wasn't getting her anywhere. But she had to keep going. She was determined to remove Mario from office if it was the last thing she did. He was a corrupt, manipulative, jerk who was not at all qualified to be a leader. The only reason he was the boss was that he was the first born son of the past leader, Joeseph Riverani. Oracle got her job by working hard and starting at the bottom and working her way to the top. She would be leader if she weren't a woman. Although it hadn't been done yet, it was possible to remove the boss from office. She didn't know how, that was what she was looking for now, in the charter. Those were well known facts in the Ring. What wasn't a well-known fact was that Mario and her were brother and sister. She sighed. Her real name was Sabrina Riverani, but she changed it to keep the relation a secret. It wasn't thought to be unusual, many assassins changed their name and kept the original ones a secret. She pushed these thoughts aside and continued leafing through the charter. She had looked through a few copies of the charter before, but they all differed a little, so none of them would be reliable. She now had finally gotten a hold of the original charter, which had not been an easy task. The original was almost sacred in the Ring, so it was closely guarded. The only person who didn't need permission to view it was Mario. And he was also the only person who could give permission for someone else to have it. That was what she had gone into his office for earlier. She made up a problem and claimed to need the charter to solve it. But he hadn't fallen for it and refused to let her have it. But that didn't stop her.

After he left his office she had snuck in, stole the keys to the charter's case, and made her way to its room. She was wearing a dark red cloak with the hood pulled over her head and a mask the same color over her eyes. Now it was impossible to recognize her. It was daytime, so there were only two guards around the case. She attacked them and hit one several times with a barbed baton and knocked the other one unconscious with a baseball bat. It was crude, but desperate times called for desperate measures. And she couldn't use any of her weapons, that would immediately make her a suspect. She dragged their listless bodies outside, near the entrance to the relic museum where the charter was stored. Oracle placed the baton and the bat in their hands to suggest a fight between the two. As a finishing touch she placed a half-empty bottle of brandy in the first guards hands. She stepped back. Then she stepped back to look over her handiwork. It would appear that the two had gotten drunk, wandered away from their post, and had gotten into a fight. A twinge of guilt tugged at her conscience. They would be fired for sure. But she would make sure to defend them and try her best to give them their jobs back. Regardless of what someone might tell you, she wasn't heartless.

And that brought her to where she was now. Flipping through the charter in a desperate attempt to find what she needed and return the charter before anyone realized it was missing. But so far it was looking like she wasn't going to get anywhere tonight. She frowned. That posed a problem. She certainly couldn't keep it in her suite for the night. That would get her kicked out for sure. No, she had to find it tonight. Finally, after a long extensive search, she found it. She eagerly read through it before sinking back into her chair. Oh no. She sat back up and re-read it in a hope to find that she overlooked something or misunderstood it. Nope, it was clearly written. The only way a leader could be removed from office was by death. She had to kill him. Him, her own brother. She looked thoughtful. Maybe she could challenge him to a Circle of Death. Oracle shook her head. "Be rational," she told herself. Mario would kill her for sure. They had both inherited very valuable traits from their father. Tony had been one of the Ring's greatest leaders and had led it to a peak of glory. She frowned. To say Mario had sustained that peak would be an outright lie. She thought about herself and her brother. Both had gotten her dad's good looks and athleticism. In terms of wit, intellect, and cunning, Oracle was an uncanny resemblance to her father, while Mario was like a stranger. But Mario got the lion's share when it came to brute strength. "And people skills," Oracle thought bitterly. Mario was always very outgoing and always had lots of friends while Oracle was always quiet and kept to herself. Mario had plenty of girlfriends and was married until his wife was killed in a Circle of Death. Even then it was plain to see that Mario had been unfaithful. But Oracle had never even been on a date, never been kissed. It wasn't that no one asked her, she always turned them down. And after she developed the current reputation for herself all guys were afraid of her. Maybe the difference had a lot to do with the huge age gap between her and Mario that had never been bridged. She was 31 while Mario was 43. The twelve year difference made her and Mario very distant. This gap was only lengthened when she changed her name to Oracle to keep the fact that he was her brother a secret. He was all too happy to comply. He and Oracle gave sibling rivalry new meaning. They were always fighting for their father's attention. Mario would lift and even heavier weight and Oracle would solve an even tougher problem every day. Joesph was proud of them both, and he always said so. When he died Oracle was crushed and even Mario was depressed. He had meant so much to both of them. Their mother was still alive, but was in her 70s and was nearing death. Oracle made sure to visit her often, but Mario never did. "Probably thinks himself too important to even visit his own mother," she thought bitterly. The clock chiming reminded her of the time and why she was here. Oracle looked at the charter again. There was no way she could beat Mario in a Circle of Death. She leaned back, dejected. No one could. She suddenly sat back up and grabbed for her phone. Almost no one…

the outskirts of Chicago, Illinois

Rain poured down unmercifully on anyone who was dumb enough to be outside. The team crouched behind some trees, waiting. Mendel pulled his jacket tighter around himself in vain. He, along with everyone else, was soaked to the bone. "I could be indoors, in the nice heated robotics convention right now," he whined to no one in particular. He sighed. "Why oh why did I say yes to this suicide mission."

Nick ignored Mendel, he had other things to worry about right now. He tried not to feel discouraged. This damn rain ruined the entire plan of luring Medusa away with water. Right now there were pools of water everywhere in Chicago. He shook his head. The sea anemone was like a kid in a candy store. Nick brushed his bangs out of his eyes only to have them fall back into place. The rain had caused his bangs to be plastered against his face right over his eyes. This caused his vision to be interrupted by vertical, slightly curving, brown streaks. Maybe he should've taken Randy's advice and gotten a haircut. Nick could barely see. He didn't have any more time to think about his hair because a familiar brown tentacle had just crashed down next to Elsie, who had rolled away just in time. He came out of his position along with the rest of the team and fired their heat rays at Medusa.

Medusa melted onto the ground. While the team was still firing NIGEL came around the corner connected to a giant vacuum. "C'mon NIGEL," Mendel muttered. "Don't fail me now." The robot vacuumed up most of the monster before some of Medusa came back into solid form and threw NIGEL over the horizon. "NIGEL!" Mendel screamed. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!" Elsie watched the robot sinking down, taking with it all their hopes of defeating this thing. "So Nick, did we happen to have a plan B?"

"Ummmmmm," he said as the sea anemone menacingly towered over them, getting larger by the minute from soaking up the rain, "Run."

"Will do," Randy said before everyone went tearing off away from Medusa. Medusa however, was not about to let them get away.

First she picked up Monique and threw her into a treetop. Monique struggled to get out of the tangle of branches and leaves she was stuck in. The rain hadn't done anything to dull the tree and the branches left scratch marks all over her from scraping her body. Monique ignored the pain and only concentrated on climbing down.

Medusa then struck Elsie with one long tentacle, tossing her body like a rag doll through the air before she finally hit the ground with a sickening thud. "Elsie!" Mendel screamed as he ran over to her aid. He picked up Elsie's unconscious body. "Mendel!" Nick ordered. "Take Elsie back to the plane and treat any wounds she may have." Mendel took off towards the plane, which was about a third of a mile away. After he reached the plane, Mendel reclined one of the seats and lay Elsie on it. She started to come to. "Ugh," she groaned. "Wha-what happened?"

"Medusa," Mendel replied panting from sprinting all the way here. Elsie sat up before Mendel pushed her back down. "Lie down Elsie, you need to rest."

"What about the others Mendel?" she asked, frantic. "They need our help!" Mendel thought this over. "You stay here and rest and I'll go help the others," he finally concluded. He ran towards the exit before he stopped to think. Him just showing up wouldn't do any good. They needed something to help. But what was on the plane? They had most of their weapons with them and on NIGEL. And the ones that were left were all guns; those wouldn't do any good against Medusa. Mendel just sighed and realized he better just find whatever was left of NIGEL when a silver glint caught his eye. He went closer to it and stared at it for awhile before he figured out what it was. Mendel reached down and pulled it all the way out. He looked over it in his hands. Nick's katana. He thought about it. This could definitely slice through Medusa, and, although it wouldn't defeat her, it could help. After a moments consideration about the possible consequences Mendel decided to take it with him. With the blade firmly in his hand Mendel raced off towards the remaining members of the team.

Monique finally managed to make it down from the tree just in time to see Randy being flung right at her. He crashed into her and they both toppled to the ground. Randy looked down. "Oh thanks Monique," he said smiling genuinely. "You broke my fall."

"You're welcome," she replied dryly. They both got up and looked around. "Where's Nick?" Randy asked. Monique shrugged and gasped as she saw Nick being picked up and slammed into a nearby building. "Nick!" she cried as she ran over to help him.

Nick groaned as he hit the ground. There was a throbbing pain in the back of his head. He looked up and saw Monique and Randy run up to him before he looked back down at the ground and coughed up blood.

Randy winced as he saw the crimson liquid hit the ground. He bent down and helped Nick up. Monique casually looked over Nick, trying her best to keep an air of indifference, and asked, "You hurt?"

He looked over at her and took a deep breath before answering, "I'm fine."

"Good," she said. "Now come on, we need to stop that thing." She ran off before either Randy or Nick could reply.

Mendel reached the spot where the others had been. "Where are they?" he wondered out loud. "Wait a minute, they couldn't have been- oh no!" he thought. But fortunately, he had to revise his little theory when he saw Randy and Monique crouched over Nick, who was lying on the ground. Mendel strained to see more. "Is he hurt?" he wondered. He went closer and pushed against a light brown stump to get a better look. But suddenly the others were the last thing on his mind as the "stump" moved and he was right in front of an angry Medusa. She reached out with a tentacle, preparing to strike. Mendel screamed and swung the only weapon he had instinctively in self-defense, Nick's blade. Mendel braced himself for the force of the blow, but surprisingly none came. He tentatively opened one eye. He looked up at Medusa, who was making a distressed cry and backing away. Mendel opened both eyes. What happened? He looked at the katana and noticed a sticky, clear liquid on it. He touched it and found it warm and gooey. As he smoothed it between his fingers, trying to figure out what it was, he noticed one of Medusa's tentacles, slightly twitching, on the ground. This took awhile to sink in before Mendel realized what had happened. As he gasped in horror and disgust at the fact that the liquid covering his hands was Medusa's blood the others ran up to him. "What did you do? It didn't attack you," Nick said. Then he noticed what Mendel was holding and looked up in surprise. "What the hell are you doing with that?"

"Nick, I just um, found it on the plane and I thought we could uh, you know use it so I brought it here pleasedon'tbemad," Mendel cried, cringing a little.

Nick stared at him for awhile before laughing. "Don't worry Mendel I'm not that mad, just let me handle this from now on." Mendel looked relieved.

"So what did you do?" Randy asked before seeing the twitching tentacle. "Oh."

Monique bent down and examined it. "Interesting. When the creature loses a part of its body it can't be rejoined to the rest of its body unless it melts."

"So slicing Medusa will be effective for defense in the time until we get NIGEL back," Nick concluded. "Craven, how long will that take?"

Mendel shrugged. "I dunno, I should be able to use NIGEL's radio signal and homing device to have him come straight back to wherever I am. With the speed enhancing motor I installed last month it should take about five to seven minutes for him to get here. It all depends on how far he was thrown and how banged up he is."

Nick nodded and thought about this before he remembered something. "How's Elsie?"

"She's fine, she just needs to get some rest," Mendel replied. "Are you guys okay?"

"I dunno, Monique and I are fine, just banged up a bit. Why don't you ask the guy who was coughing up the red stuff," Randy said, casting a sideways glance at Nick.

Nick sighed, exasperated. "It's not a big deal. It's common for me to cough up blood during combat. I'm fine, I've been a lot worse."

Monique raised an eyebrow at the words "in combat" but said nothing. Mendel took out his little keypad and pressed a few buttons and typed in some commands before turning back to the team. "Alright, NIGEL is on his way. The vacuum should still work, but the canister is banged up. I don't think it'll be able to hold all of her. She needs to be smaller."

Randy turned to Nick. "So jefe, think you can slice Medusa down to size in five minutes."

"Piece of cake," Nick replied, grabbing his katana and taking off towards Medusa with Monique following. Nick looked back. "And just what do you think you're doing?" he asked.

"Helping you," she replied, giving him a look that clearly said not to argue with her. Nick rolled his eyes. "Fine, just don't get in the way."

They reached Medusa and Nick motioned for Monique to stay behind him. He stealthily sneaked up behind her (Medusa) before he realized that just sneaking up and slicing a tentacle off was like a dehydration wish. for those of you who don't get what I'm saying, Medusa lives off electrolytes and sucks all the water out of her victims, making their bodies completely dehydrated. He whispered to Monique, "We're going to go right in front of her and yell and provoke her." Monique looked at him like he was crazy. "We need to get her to take a swipe at us," he explained. "When that tentacle flies right in front of our faces, I'll cut it off."

"And what if you miss?" Monique said.

"I won't," Nick stated before running out in front of Medusa, forcing Monique to follow. She shook her head. He was starting to sound like her.

The pair ran out right in front of the monster. Medusa looked down at them with that one huge eye and seemed to consider them for a moment. Monique took out a small laser gun and fired a shot that whizzed right by Medusa's face. Medusa roared (or screeched, whatever you call the sound that she makes) and brought down a tentacle to attack. It came closer, closer, then there was a slicing sound and the arm was lying on the ground. Medusa screeched and again tried to hit them. And Nick once again sliced the tentacle off. Now it was clear Medusa was more than a little perturbed. She flung two gigantic arms at Nick and Monique. Nick gulped. He hadn't expected this to happen. Monique however, had, and it was the reason she insisted on accompanying Nick. While Nick cut one tentacle off, Monique fired the heat ray at the other one. It melted to the ground before oozing back into Medusa. Then Medusa once again flung herself at them. Nick cut part of her off, but Monique only managed to melt one arm. The other struck her and she was smashed into the ground. Nick quickly sliced the offending tentacle off before running to Monique's side. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Monique started to answer but suddenly gasped. "Behind you!" she cried.

Nick looked back only to be hit full force in the face by an arm and be smashed into the ground next to Monique. "Thanks for the warning," he mumbled.

"Don't mention it," Monique replied, pulling herself up. Nick got up as well. "How long before NIGEL gets here?" he asked.

"He should be here by now," she replied.

Nick nodded and looked over the sea anemone, which was greatly reduced in size. "I think she's small enough now, we should make a run for it," Nick stated. "Besides, I don't know how much more of this beating we can take."

Monique nodded. They both took off and were almost to safety when Nick froze. "My blade," he cried. "It's gone!" The pair looked back to see it lying right beside Medusa. Nick immediately ran back until Monique grabbed him. "What do you think you're doing?" she demanded.

"I can't just leave it there," Nick replied freeing himself of Monique's grasp. He ran behind Medusa, retrieved the katana and started to sneak away. Medusa turned around and a giant arm smashed down, barely missing Nick. He then decided to just run and dodged another hit before being back to safety with Monique. "Close one," he muttered wiping the clear blood off the blade. They then looked back in time to see NIGEL fire a long cord that wrapped itself around Medusa. Mendel pushed a button on the remote and the cord released 10,000 volts of electricity directly into Medusa. She screeched and immediately melted. NIGEL then started to vacuum her up into the heated canisters. "Alright NIGEL," Craven murmured. "Almost done." Finally, the last of Medusa was sucked into the canister. Mendel breathed a sigh of relief as the rest of the team cheered. "One down, eight to go!" Randy yelled, not taking in the full meaning of his words. Nick however, did. He sighed. If every mutant banged them up as much as Medusa he doubted the team would survive to take down the last mutant. This would be a lot easier with Godzilla. He felt a wave of sadness wash over him. Godzilla was gone, killed in a huge explosion ten years ago. Before Nick could think about the deceased lizard anymore Randy's voice interrupted. "So what are we going to do with her?"

"Hicks said the military will handle disposing of the mutants once we contain or destroy them," Nick replied. "Hopefully they'll clean up too," he added referring to the blood and decapitated tentacles everywhere.

"C'mon," Mendel said. "Let's get back to the plane. Elsie's probably getting worried about us by now. The team nodded and started to make their way back to the plane and their next battle.

Ring of Fire HQ

this is a short one, I promise! Just read it, it won't hurt

Iris pressed a box on the screen in front of her, showing the Shadow Dragon's location. She brushed a wisp of her light blond hair out of her eyes as she watched the moving dot on the screen. She moved away and looked at her reflection in the blank widescreen to her left. Her clothes were all white and her hair was tied in a ponytail with some stray strands framing her face. She wore a sleeveless white tube top that was connected to her white miniskirt by a sheet of transparent fabric. A thick white choker complemented the other clothes.

She looked over the printout she had received with the details of this assignment. He would be hard to catch, he was could be very elusive. That was why Mario assigned her the job. She pulled out her bow and arrows. She was a hunter, and no one had ever escaped her, even fellow assassins. "Enjoy your freedom Shadow Dragon," she whispered as she left the room. "Because before you know it it's all going to be over."

Somewhere in the Pacific

Ashley Harding leaned against the yacht's railing, letting the cool sea breeze gently ruffle her long red hair. The British twelve-year-old and her family were vacationing in the Pacific. Although the yacht wasn't the newest technology, her father loved its old fashioned charm. Right now, he was at the back of the yacht, checking on the fishing nets. They too, were rather old fashioned, but her dad wanted her and her brother to have a small fishing cruise, just like he did as a boy.

She turned around just in time to be soaked by a blast of sea water. Ashley sputtered and cleared the water from her eyes to see a tall, sixteen-year-old boy holding a massive water gun laughing at her. "Not funny Michael," she said. He just grinned lopsidedly at her and ducked the slap coming his way. "Lighten up Ash," he said, smoothing back his fiery red hair, still wet from the swim he took earlier. "It was just a harmless prank."

"Harmless?!" she hissed. "Look at my clothes!" she cried gesturing to the soaked green spaghetti strap sundress.

"You can dry it," Michael replied, defending himself. Ashley opened her mouth for a retort when their mother yelled from inside the main cabin. "Ashley, Michael, lunch is ready!" Ashley shot her brother a nasty look before running to her cabin to change.

Edward Harding strode into the kitchen at the same time as Michael. "Mmm, that smells delicious love," he said to his wife Marian. "What is it?"

"Fish," she replied dryly. "As in the same thing we've been eating for the past week."

"Aw Mom," Michael groaned. "Fish AGAIN?"

"Of course," Edward cheerfully replied. "This is a fishing cruise after all. And we're such a success! Why the nets are stuffed full yet again!"

"Great," Michael muttered as he slumped into his chair.

Ashley looked over the outfits that were lying on her bed in her tiny cabin. She sighed, she couldn't decide what to wear. Then she thought about it. "This is stupid," she said out loud to herself. "It's just my family, they don't care what I look like." So she just grabbed a red tube top and a pair of denim shorts and started to put them on. As she pulled the tube top over her head she froze. What was that sound? She listened, but everything was quiet. Strange, she could have sworn she heard a low rumbling of some sort.

Michael aimlessly pushed the food on his plate around. He didn't know what the hell was cooked with this fish, and he didn't care to find out. His mother gave him a look and was about to tell him to eat his strained spinach when the yacht was violently jerked. Everyone fell out of their chairs and the clattering of dishes and silverware echoed in the air. Edward tried to get up but fell down again as the yacht rocked again. A scream was heard from down the hall. "Ashley," he whispered.

The denim shorts were being zipped up when Ashley was thrown to the ground. She landed on a heap of clothes and groaned. "Oh no," she muttered. "Not another storm." She managed to see through her window that the sun was shining outside without a cloud in sight. "What the-" she thought just before the second shaking of the yacht. Her bed swayed a bit before the heavy piece of furniture crashed down on top on Ashley before she could get out of the way. She sputtered and coughed before she realized she was trapped and screamed.

Edward got up and steadied himself as the yacht rocked again. "Ashley!" he called.

"I'm in here daddy," was her weak reply. Edward ran as fast as he could into her room. He gasped when he saw her trapped under the bed. He bent down and using every last bit of his strength picked the bed off his daughter. Marian and Michael came running in. "Oh Ashley honey," Marian fussed, "are you alright, oh how dreadful that must have hurt so much and-"

"Mom," Ashley said firmly, "I'm fine, just a little sore."

Edward made sure Ashley was really fine before running outside to see what the hell happened. Michael followed him. "What was that Dad?" he asked.

"I don't know," was his reply. "The sea looks pretty calm, so it wasn't the waves." He wandered over to the nets and gasped. "Look at the nets!" he cried. Michael ran over and just stared in shock. His father had told him to look at the nets, or at least what was left of them. Only jagged pieces were still attached to yacht, the rest of the nets and all the fish were gone. "What the hell happened," he wondered out loud. Ashley and Marian came outside and gasped at the sight. "Edward what happened?" Marian cried. Ashley just stared a little, then tuned out her mother's rantings. A movement off to the side caught her eye. What was that? She walked away from her family, all the way over to the opposite side of the yacht. Leaning over the railing, she noticed the water slightly bubbling. And under that, she could make out a faint outline of something. Something big. There was a snorting sound and a blast off water shot high into the air, causing Ashley to jump back. She cautiously leaned over the railing again.

Michael picked up a part of the former fishing nets and examined it in his hand. They hadn't been cut loose, more like something ripped them off. Suddenly he tensed when he heard a familiar scream. He looked up and saw a terror stricken Ashley screaming and running towards them. When he looked past her he saw something that made his heart stop.

Edward and Marian looked up and saw it too. "Oh my god," Edward muttered while Marian stared awhile, then screamed and grabbed her family and threw them inside.

Something had been chasing Ashley, or it seemed like it. They only saw glimpses of greenish spikes and a long tail occasionally rising out of the water. The family huddled close together as they watched in silence. There eyes widened, but they didn't make a sound as a massive head rose out of the water. It it's tooth filled mouth, they saw pieces of their fishing net hanging out. Edward muttered a curse as he realized he caught the fishing net murderer and there was nothing he could do about it. The creature spat the net out, then turned to look at the Hardings. It brought one huge eye level with their yacht as the family prayed that it would spare them. It blinked then backed away before diving back underwater, causing a huge wave that gently rocked the yacht. Ashley and Michael ran out to where it had been and stared at down at the water in disbelief.

Death Valley

Tony Hicks Jr. took off his hat and wiped the sweat from his forehead. It was so damn hot here. But they had to stay here, they were ordered to keep the cougar away from any major cities. And since it seemed to like it around here, they had to stay as well. He hoped H.E.A.T. would hurry up and finish off these mutants. He was sick of all the calls he was getting from freaked out civilians claiming they saw a giant cat through their bedroom windows. Tony made up a bull shit story about the heat and hallucinations people were experiencing due to a chemical in the air. Of course, none of that was true, but it got most of the people off his back. He placed his cap back on his head and went inside to check on the latest mutant reports. He looked over the computer screens, then sighed, and picked up the phone to call H.E.A.T.

Off the coast of Santa Isabel, Solomon Islands

"Nick," Elsie began. "We've been drifting around here for hours, how do we know this thing is going to show."

"We don't," Nick replied. "But the military ordered us to change course from the Basilisks to this so we could identify it."

"Well what do we know already?" Monique asked.

Nick sighed. "Not much. It's very big, it's green, and it supposedly eats fish."

"And how do you know that?" Mendel inquired.

"The report," Nick replied. "A British family that was vacationing off the coast of New Guinea wandered off course to the vicinity of these islands. This thing attacked them a few miles from here."

"It didn't attack them," Elsie muttered. "It attacked their fishing nets. The nets were ripped out of the ship and all the fish with them. The family was left unharmed. Physically anyway." A red light flashed on the boats control panel. Randy groaned. "Not again. You would think with the responsibility of saving the world the army could give us better equipment."

"This is far from the Heatseeker," Mendel agreed. "But it's not THAT bad."

Elsie sighed and turned her eyes back to the bait. A huge barge loaded with fish floating about 60 feet in front of the boat. They had been anchored here for three hours and whatever this monster was hadn't shown. "Maybe it doesn't like fish," Randy speculated.

"Yeah Randy," Elsie replied rolling her eyes. "It HATES fish, yet it attacked a fishing boat and took its catch. That's just what I would do"

"It was just a thought," Randy said sheepishly. Suddenly the barge was jerked a bit. "Yo Nick," Randy said. "I think something's taking the bait."

Nick ran outside and the others followed. The barge was being jerked around, presumably by the cord it was anchored by. They heard a low growl coming from underwater, and the barge and the loads of fish disappeared into the ocean.

"Monique," Nick said. "Go inside and get ready for pursuit if our dinner guest decides to eat and run." She gave him a defiant look. Nick sighed. "Please?" Monique nodded and ran inside to the control panel. Nick then turned his attention back to the ocean. The barge resurfaced, with all the fish gone and some rips and bite marks in it as well. They heard the low growl once again and a glimpse of scaly skin surfaced. There was a bit of turmoil and more strange sounds, then suddenly everything was still and quiet. "Whe-where it'd go," Mendel stammered. Suddenly, a loud roar filled the air and the creature raised it's huge head out of the water and roared again. Everyone on board stared in shock. It couldn't be, could it? Nick gulped then said in a barely audible whisper "Godzilla?"

End Chapter Four

END PART ONE


End file.
